The Wisp Sings
by DREWHHR
Summary: Teddy is depressed after Andromeda dies so Harry and Hermione bring him to the countryside for a vacation and draw closer together.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Happee Birthdae to both!

For the Harmony and Co 2k Celebration.

The Wisp Sings

"_Let me sleep_

_I am tired of my grief_

_And I would like you_

_To love me, to love me, to love me."—_

_ "_The Wisp Sings" by Winter Aid

"I think it's best for us to get away for a while, Hermione," Harry told his best friend as they sat down on the couch in the parlor room after putting their adopted son to bed. "Teddy hasn't been himself since Andromeda's death. It's too cramped in London and he needs wide open spaces. Places to run. Fields. Sunshine."

"I agree. Somewhere in the country. You think we can rent a summer house somewhere?" Hermione asked leaning on his shoulder. She was exhausted from the day.

Harry wrapped his arm around her, loving the feeling of her soft body against his. He wanted her. So badly. His heart ached and beat for her. But he knew she only saw him as a friend and nothing more. "Even better. We'll go to Taigh nam Fiadh in Fraserburgh. He's never been. He'll love it there."

"Ugh, I always forget you have estates throughout the U.K."

"Perks of being a Lord." After a beat he asked, "When do you want to go?"

"Hmm, soon. We'll go this weekend and stay for two weeks, yeah?"

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait. I think all three of us need this. You can sit and read in the garden. I can fly around the grounds. Teddy can play with the sheep."

Harry felt Hermione's body move as she laughed. "Teddy will love the sheep. And the Highland cows." She lifted her head from Harry's shoulder and looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes. "Can we go tomorrow?"

"Hermione…"

"I'm kidding. But I honestly can't wait. They still gave me leave of work from the funeral. We've got two days to pack. Should we take the train or a Portkey? Or we can Floo!"

"Hermione! It's late. We can talk specifics tomorrow. I promise. I can hear the gears going in your head."

Hermione playfully hit him in the chest, causing them both to laugh. He kissed her on the forehead. She closed her eyes in bliss at the contact. Ever since the War ended, Harry had grown more affectionate. He had a few of depressive months after but Hermione had pulled him out of it. She told him he had everything to live for and his whole life to look forward to, and they formally adopted Teddy soon after as co-parents.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm off to bed," Hermione chirped.

"I'll head up with you."

Both young adults walked up the stairs of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Harry hugged his best friend and kissed her on the top of the head. "Good night, Hermione."

"Good night, Harry."

"Daddy? Daddy?" Harry felt a light nudge on his left shoulder.

"Huh?" He sat up and turned on the lamp to find Teddy standing there, holding his stuffed wolf with tears running down his eyes. "Teddy, are you okay?" He leaned over and gathered him into his arms.

"No. I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about Nana. I miss her so much. Ca-can I sleep with you?" came his small voice muffled into his neck, his tears wetting his white t-shirt. He didn't really care, though.

"Of course. Come on, mate, get under the covers." He lifted his adopted son onto the bed and the little boy clambered underneath. "It's going to be okay. I won't leave you."

"Promise?"

"I promise, mate."

Harry heard a small sigh of relief and a sniffle. Teddy rubbed his face against his pillow and dried his tears but more just kept coming. His godfather placed a hand on his back and rubbed tiny circles, soothing him. "I know, mate. I know," he kept telling him. "It's okay to cry. Just let it all out."

Fifteen minutes later, Teddy had finally fallen asleep with his thumb halfway in his mouth; his face tear-stained and red. Suddenly, the door opened, and Harry heard light shuddering.

"Hermione?" he whispered. He could see half of her face aglow in the hallway light.

"I had a nightmare," she told him.

"Shh. Teddy's sleeping in here."

"Oh. Sorry. I should—"

Harry was having none of that. "Come on. Get in. There's plenty room for all of us."

Hermione hesitated before closing the door and making her way over to his king-sized bed. She slipped underneath the tucked-in covers on the other side of the bed so that Teddy was in the middle of them. The witch brushed back her son's hair and kissed his temple lightly. Harry reached over and grabbed her hand. He laced his fingers with hers underneath the covers. The both of them felt their hearts stop and then speed up at the intimacy.

And in that moment, the both of them knew everything was going to be okay. All three of them were together and safe.

At least for tonight. 

* * *

The next morning, the family of three were sitting around the table eating an English breakfast with tomatoes, sausage, eggs, fried toast, and bacon. Harry cut up Teddy's tomatoes, telling him to make sure to eat them and that it was healthy for him. He didn't even object.

Harry gave Hermione a look behind his morning tea and she gave and understanding one back, he wasn't even objecting to eating food that was good for him.

Harry found his opening and cleared his throat. "So, Teddy, Mummy and I were talking last night. And we were thinking that the three of us could take a vacation to Scotland to Daddy's manor house. What do you think?"

Teddy shrugged indifferently. "Sounds fun, I guess."

"There's room to play," Hermione chimed in. "Room to run around. You'll love it there. It'll be great for us. As a family." She looked at Harry at these last words and he gave her a shy smile.

The little boy nodded. He loved that word. "Family."

* * *

"_Call in sick, for me._

_Couldn't remember, now we see._

_I'm over the moon,_

_I'm over the moon for you" –_

"Now We See" by Tales

"Okay, Teddy, let's see. How many books do you want to bring to Scotland?" Hermione asked as they were packing his bags for the family trip in his room.

"I don't know. I guess all of them."

His adoptive mother laughed. "All of them? You can't bring all of them, Ted."

"Okay, then. Just some of them."

"Go pick them out, then, my love." She kissed the top of his head and watched as he went to his bookshelf and concentrated hard on what he wanted. When he couldn't come up with anything, Hermione suggested, "What about some Roald Dahl?"

"_James and the Giant Peach_? Will you read it to me while we're there, Mummy?"

"Of course. If you want me to."

"Good. I want you to read to me every night until I die."

Hermione laughed again. "I don't know if I can do that. But I'll try."

Suddenly, Teddy's demeanor changed. "What's wrong, my love?" Hermione held her arms out to him and he walked over. She lifted him onto her lap and held him tight.

"What's going to happen to me now that Nana is gone? Are you going to get rid of me?"

Hermione gave him a shocked look. "Why would you think that? Of course not! Daddy and I adopted you when you were six months old. Do you know what that means?"

Teddy shook his head.

"It means that you're ours and we're yours. And _no one _can take you away from us. Do you understand? We're a family."

"But…you and Daddy aren't married."

Hermione blushed at that. "No, we're not. But we care for each other. And we love you."

"What's going to happen if Daddy marries another lady? Are you going to get rid of me then?"

"That's not going to happen," they heard at the door. It was Harry with a smile on his face. "Your Mummy is the number one woman in my life. And there is _no way _you're ever leaving us, alright, mate? I don't want to hear you say that, okay?"

Teddy nodded, smiling.

"Alright, grab some books and pack up. We've a manor to go to."

* * *

The next day was the day they were supposed to go to the manor and all three of them were excited. Teddy had never been and was asking all kinds of questions.

"Are there any cows there?"

"How tall are the hills?"

"Is it near Hogwarts?"

"Can we visit Hogwarts?"

"Is there a bookstore there?"

Hermione cut in, "There's something better than a bookstore, Teddy."

The little boy smiled. "Can I bring a picture of Nana?"

"Of course. Go get one. We're just about to leave," Harry replied.

Teddy rushed up the stairs to his room to get the picture of Andromeda Tonks that sat on his bedside table. He hugged it to his chest. "I miss you, Nana. You're coming with me to Scotland, okay?"

The little boy raced down the stairs and put the picture frame in his backpack. Shouldering it, he said, "I'm ready."

"Alright! Daddy is going to Floo with the bags and you and Mummy will Floo together, yeah?" Harry told him, ruffling his hair.

"Okay, Daddy."

Harry shoved all three of their bags into the fireplace and squeezed himself in. "House of Deer!" he yelled, and he was gone in a green flame.

Hermione and Teddy were next. They arrived in a nicely furnished parlor that looked straight out of the Victorian age. Harry was standing there brushing the soot off of himself.

"_Scourgify!_" Hermione waved her wand at the three of them and they were soon all clean.

"Master! Master has come back!" they heard from the Entrance Hall to the right.

They turned and saw a house elf running up to them. He was dressed in a small maître d' outfit. "And he brought Mistress Hermione! And Young Master!"

"Hey, Karpey! Good to see you again!"

"Is Mistress now your wife?"

Both Harry and Hermione blushed. The latter nervously pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Erm, no. We're just friends."

"Karpey is sorry. May Karpey take your bags then to your rooms?"

"Sure, thank you, Karpey. Teddy, this is Karpey, our house elf."

"Mummy doesn't like to enslave house elves," Teddy said.

"Well, Karpey isn't enslaved. See? Karpey has clothes. Master pays Karpey five galleons a week and Karpey gets vacation time."

"Oh, well, in that case, I'm Teddy, Karpey." The little boy held out his hand for Karpey to shake, which the house elf did.

"Welcome to Taigh nam Fiadh."

"I have a surprise to show Teddy," Harry smirked at his son. "Come on."

The three of them walked through the beautiful seven-story house, up the house to the second floor. The hallway floors were lines with soft red carpet. They passed many doors until they arrived at the end of the hall, which had a large oak double door with brass doorknobs.

"Close your eyes."

Teddy squeezed his eyes shut and his adoptive father opened the door, taking his hand, and leading him in.

"Okay, open."

Teddy gasped.

In front of him was the largest library he had ever seen. The ceiling was enchanted to be a few stories higher than the manor actually was. Old tomes and new ones lines the wooden shelves. Both adult and children's. He had gotten his love for books from his adoptive mother and was in heaven.

"Are they all for us?"

"Yes, mate. They're for us."

"Look, Mummy. They're all for us."

Hermione giggled and picked him up. She kissed the side of his temple and his hair turned a happy yellow. It was the first time it had changed from his dull blue in a while.

Progress.

* * *

After a dinner of Scottish goulash, Hermione put Teddy to sleep and then joined Harry in the sitting room for some television. A sitcom was on. Harry wrapped his arm around her as she laid down against him. He loved having her in his arms.

"Teddy's down for the night."

"Good."

"He said that he's very happy with his books."

"Aww. I'm glad. I can't wait for him to get out of his funk."

"Me too. I really hope this trip helps."

Harry wanted to make his move. He wanted to talk to her about how he had been feeling lately.

About her. But every time he tried, he chickened out. He was afraid of rejection. _What if she doesn't love me back? What if she only sees me as a friend? What if I make it awkward between us? _

"Harry, I feel you tense. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said in a voice that did not sound like he was fine.

"No, you're not." She sat up and looked at him curiously. She ran a hand over his face, feeling it a bit warm. "You're not feverish."

"I just, uh—nothing. It's nothing." _Coward_. He noticed Hermione looking at his lips and drawing closer. Was she? Or was he getting closer?

They were less than an inch away. This is what he had been wanting his whole life. All he had to do was close the distance.

"Mummy? Daddy?"

They jerked apart.

Teddy was standing in the doorframe of the sitting room, holding his stuffed wolf, looking nervous.

"Teddy, what are you doing up?" Hermione asked sternly.

"Y-you forgot to do the thing?"

"The thing?"

"When we go to a new house. The thing."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other confused. What was he talking about?

"With the monsters. Scare the monsters away," Teddy explained.

"Oh, right!" Harry said. "Of course! I'll get right on that. Come on, mate."

"Actually…can Mummy do it?" the little boy asked hopefully.

Hermione looked surprised and proud at the same time. Her son wanted her to scare away the monsters in his closet.

"You know, that would hurt me. But your Mummy is scarier than me."

"You know, _that _would hurt me, but it's true."

All three of them laughed, and Hermione stood up. Taking Teddy by the hand, she led him back up the stairs to his room. Teddy climbed into his bed and waited.

Hermione opened the closet door and held out her wand. "Alright, you monsters! My son is sleeping in here and if you harm him, you will have to deal with me!" She waved her wand and red sparks shot out.

She closed the door and looked at Teddy. "There. That should scare them. And if there are any left in there, they're just friendly monsters, okay? They just like the smell of your clothes."

Teddy nodded. "Thank you, Mummy."

"You're welcome, my love. Now, go to sleep." She gave him a kiss on the top of his head and left the room.

She went to sleep that night giddy that she was so close to kissing Harry.

* * *

The next day was another bad day for Teddy. He stayed inside and colored pictures. They were mostly sad pictures of his Nana and his parents together wherever they were.

Harry's heart broke when he saw the pictures and he sat down at the dining table next to Teddy and asked him, "I want to ask you some questions, son, and I want you to answer honestly, okay?"

Teddy nodded.

"I want you to close your eyes."

Teddy closed his eyes.

"Let your mind go blank. And tell me the first thing you're feeling right now."

"Anger," was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Anger. Okay. Good. I'm glad."

"Isn't being angry bad, though?"

"No. But you got to let it out. You can't keep it bottled up. I've done it and it does not have good consequences. Eventually, you'll explode, and everything will explode around you."

"So, what do we do, Daddy?"

"We let out the anger…safely. Come on."

Harry got up from his seat at the table and grabbed Teddy's hand, leading him outside to the open, grassy field. They could see Hermione in the garden on a bench, reading. She glanced at them when they walked out.

Once they were far away from any trees and buildings, Harry stopped. "Alright, mate. Here is a safe place. Far from anyone and anything." He knelt down in front of his son. Tears came to his eyes. "I know what it feels like to feel anger. And it sucks. I felt it the first seventeen years of my life. Your Mummy helped me through it. And I'm going to help you through it. It makes you want to scream, huh? Nana is gone. Your mother and father are gone. And that makes you angry. Well, do something about it. Scream. I'll scream with you." He stood up and let out a loud yell.

"AHHHHHH!"

"Ahh!" Teddy let out a small scream.

Harry frowned. "That was pathetic. Feel it in your gut, Ted. In your heart. Come on! SCREAM!"

"AHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"Jump, Teddy! Punch the ground! Get it out of you! Get it out until you feel better!"

Teddy started jumping up and down, pounding his feet on the ground in anger. "AHHHHHH! GRRRR! RAWR!" He let out the werewolf side of him. "AOWWW!"

"That's it! That's it! Keep going! Let it out! Let it go!" Harry laughed and cried at the same time at the sight of his adoptive son getting rid of what had plagued him this whole time.

Something caught his eye and he turned, finding Hermione by the side of the manor. She was smiling, knowing exactly what was happening.

Suddenly, Teddy fell on the ground in exhaustion, panting. He grinned up at his Daddy.

"How do you feel now, mate?"

"I still miss her. But I don't feel the anger anymore. I feel…lighter."

"Good. That's great, son. Come on, let's go get some lunch."

* * *

"_I wish we were mayflies_

_I wish we were mayflies_

_Our whole life would be a careless nuptial, a day spent in love_

_While the blonde Sun laughs at us from above"_

-"Mayfly Song" by Platon Karataev

The next several days saw Teddy with bright yellow hair, running in the fields, chasing sheep and sitting outside in the garden, having picnics outside with his parents. Harry and Hermione were so happy to see him alive again. He almost didn't even care about reading anymore.

"You're an excellent Daddy, Harry," Hermione said as they sat in the grass watching their son chase sheep. "I've never seen him this happy."

He blushed, ripping off a blade of grass. "Me neither. Not since he was a giggling toddler eating ice cream at Florean's."

Hermione smiled at the memory of that day. She leaned back on her hands, letting the Sun warm her. She closed her eyes. Harry thought she never looked more beautiful. "Mmm, we should just stay here, Harry. Grow old."

"You've told me that before. Five years ago. In the Forest of Dean. I would've said 'yes' in a heartbeat. But we couldn't. Not then. We had to save the people we loved. Make it a better place," Harry told her.

"It is now. And we can stay here. If you want. Grimmauld Place is suffocating for all of us. Admit it."

"I agree. But what about work?"

"I can find a job here in a Scottish wizarding hospital. I'm sure they'll let you transfer here to finish your Auror training."

"It sounds like a plan," he smiled at her. "As long as you're not just in for the giant library."

"Prat." She playfully swatted him.

"Okay, your turn." They were laying in the grass now. Harry laying sprawled out on his back and Hermione's head was on his stomach and she was perpendicular to him. Teddy had grown exhausted from chasing the sheep and had decided to take a nap under the watchful eye of Karpey.

"Hmm, okay. If you were an animal, what would you be?" Hermione asked him.

"Mine's not really an animal but a mayfly."

Hermione looked confused. "A mayfly? Really? Why?"

"It lives for only a day in May, which is a beautiful month. And for one day, it lives a life. From larvae to adult. And it doesn't have time to ruin their life. It doesn't have to feel pain or anger or sadness. It lives a perfect day in the Sun and…then it dies. I love my life. I do. I love having you and Teddy in it. But I would love to live one perfect day."

Hermione was speechless. A tear rolled down the side of her eye. Once she found her voice she said, "Th-that's beautiful, Harry."

"Thanks." He blushed. "What about you?"

"A mayfly," she answered.

"Hey, you can't take my answer!" he chided.

"Well, a mayfly can't have a perfect day by itself, can it? That sounds quite lonely."

"Yes, yes, it does," he whispered with a soft smile.

"Okay, next question. If you can say any three words for one day, what would they be? I know what you would say. 'Quidditch is awesome.'" She laughed to herself.

"'I love you,'" he blurted out before he knew what he was saying.

Hermione's breath hitched.

Harry's life flashed before his eyes. Did he say the wrong thing? Is she going to get mad? What is she going to do?

Hermione sat up and turned to him and gave him an unreadable look. Harry gave her a guarded one back, sitting up, as well.

"What did you say?"

"'I…love you'."

"I love you, too."

Harry's eyes widened and he shifted until he guided her back to the ground, hovering over her. Hermione could feel his hot breath on her lips. He looked at them, silently pleading to kiss them. She answered by grabbing his face and closing the distance between them.

It was everything they had been hoping for. Everything they had dreamed about. Everything they wished upon. It was perfect.

It was just them and a kiss. And that was all that mattered at the moment.

Harry's hands ran up the side her body, feeling her. Hermione's mouth opened, granting his tongue entrance. He slid his leg in between hers. He wanted to mold himself into her.

But air was needed.

They broke away and panted. Harry put his forehead against hers. "I love you," he repeated. "I can say it forever."

Hermione smiled. "I can hear it forever. How long have you felt like this?"

He smiled. "Does it really matter? I love you. You love me. And it's a beautiful day."

"I guess it doesn't."

"What does matter is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and with Teddy and whatever kids we have, if you want them. Here. In peace. I want you to be my Lady Potter. Maybe not now but in the future. If you want it."

"I do, Harry. I do want it. I want it all. I want you and a family with you." By now, she was crying.

"Then, come on. Let's go tell our son the good news."

He helped Hermione up from the ground and led her into the house toward their future.

* * *

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